Terry Hester Leach (born March 13, 1954) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, and author of the book, ''Things Happen for a Reason: The True Story of an Itinerant Life in Baseball''.

Route to the majors

Leach played college ball at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, and was originally drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in January , but the pick was voided. At which point, he signed with the unaffiliated Baton Rouge Cougars of the

Gulf States League The Gulf States League was a Class A level American minor baseball league that existed for one season — — and was based in the American states of Texas and Louisiana. History Although its teams were not affiliated with any Major League Bas ...

. With the Cougars, he was 2–0 with a 6.16

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in five games. A year later, he signed with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. With the

Greenwood Braves The Greenwood Braves were a single-A minor league baseball team located in Greenwood, South Carolina that existed from 1968 to 1979. History Affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, the Braves were members of the Western Carolinas League. The Brave ...

, Leach went 3–2 with a far more respectable 2.55 ERA in . Leach went 19–23 as a minor leaguer in the Braves' farm system when he was released by the Braves July 23, . On July 27, he signed as a Free Agent with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. After a season and a half in the minors with the Mets organization, he made his major league debut at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

on August 12, . With the Mets leading 4–2 over the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Leach surrendered a two-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

Mike Lum Michael Ken-Wai Lum (born October 27, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball player and coach who became the first American of Japanese ancestry to play in the major leagues when he debuted with the Atlanta Braves in . He currently serves as the ...

, tying the game. The Mets, however, came back to win the game in

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

, 7–4. Leach made only one start with the Mets in ; it was, however, one of the greatest pitching performances in franchise history.

Rick Ownbey Richard Wayne Ownbey (born October 20, 1957 in Corona, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. Amateur career Ownbey a ...

was scheduled to start on October 1, the second to last day of the season. A blister on his throwing hand forced Mets

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

George Bamberger George Irvin Bamberger (August 1, 1923 – April 4, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, pitching coach and manager. In Major League Baseball, the right-handed pitcher appeared in ten games, nine in relief, for the 1951–52 New ...

to start Leach in his place. Leach ended up tossing a ten inning one-hitter against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

; the only hit being a fifth inning

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

Luis Aguayo Luis Aguayo Muriel (born March 13, 1959) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians. Playing career A ...

. Despite ending the season on a high note, Leach spent all of in the minors. At the end of the season, he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers. At the start of the season, he was dealt back to the Atlanta Braves for fellow minor league journeyman pitcher Ron Meridith. A month later, he was released; the following day, the Mets re-signed him.

New York Mets

He split between the Mets and

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, and was essentially a minor leaguer again in , making only six appearances with the Mets during their World Championship season. Despite the fact that he spent much of 1986 in the minors, he was given a World Series ring in 1995, nine years after the series. Leach did not allow a run in

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, but was still cut in the final week and sent back to the minors. However,

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

's stint in a drug rehabilitation center coupled with

Bob Ojeda Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member ...

being out for the season-ending surgery, opened a spot in the rotation for Leach. Leach responded with an 11–1 record and ten consecutive wins. Pitching exclusively out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

again a season later, Leach went 7–2 with a 2.54 ERA and three saves. In the

1988 National League Championship Series The 1988 National League Championship Series was played between the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League East champion New York Mets. The Dodgers won the Series four games to three, en route to defeating the O ...

against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, he pitched five innings without giving up a run.

Kansas City Royals

In June , the Mets traded Leach to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for Aquedo Vasquez. He went 5–6 with a 4.15 ERA in his only season in Kansas City.

Minnesota Twins

He was released during

in , and caught on with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. In , he made his second trip to the post season while with the Twins, and made two appearances in their

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

victory over the Atlanta Braves. In game three, he entered with the bases loaded and two outs, with the Twins trailing by three runs and the Braves having already scored twice in the inning. He struck out

Mark Lemke Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to . He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over ...

to end the threat. In game five he pitched two innings, allowing one run. He would make a total of 105 regular season appearances in his two years with the Twins, posting ERAs of 3.20 and 3.61.

Chicago White Sox

Leach became a free agent after the Series, and signed with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. The Expos released him during Spring training, and he signed with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. In , Leach was 6–5 with a 1.95 ERA for the ChiSox. He split between the White Sox, their double-A affiliate and their triple-A affiliate. He was released during spring training in and after a year away from the game he retired for good after a failed attempt to make the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in .

Author

In , Leach wrote his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''Things Happen for a Reason: The True Story of an Itinerant Life in Baseball'' with Tom Clark.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Gauge
o
The Ultimate Mets Database
o
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Terry 1954 births Living people Auburn Tigers baseball players Auburn University alumni Baseball players from Alabama Baton Rouge Cougars players Birmingham Barons players Chicago White Sox players Greenwood Braves players Jackson Mets players Kansas City Royals players Kinston Eagles players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Sportspeople from Selma, Alabama Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Tidewater Tides players